State association inducts two local residents

At its recent annual meeting in Vail, Colo., the Colorado Association of Conservation Districts (CACD) inducted Gerald DeLong and David Miller, two longtime conservationists into its Conservation Hall of Fame.

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LA Junta Tribune - La Junta, CO

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Posted Dec. 7, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Posted Dec. 7, 2012 at 1:00 PM

At its recent annual meeting in Vail, Colo., the Colorado Association of Conservation Districts (CACD) inducted Gerald DeLong and David Miller, two longtime conservationists into its Conservation Hall of Fame.

DeLong, a 57-year member of the West Otero Timpas Conservation District (WOTCD), was raised with a passion for farming and ranching and has been successfully operating his own place since purchasing the land 54 years ago. DeLong says, “I feel like I have raised my children to take pride in what they had growing up, especially our land. If it wasn’t for conservation activities and support from local, state, and federal agencies, we wouldn’t have been able to continue farming and ranching.”

DeLong is a perfect example of a dying breed, the ones who don’t take the land for granted and do what they can to make it work by using every natural resource wisely. He has done some conservation on his 190-acre farm, including underground pipe andgated pipe. But, his biggest contribution to conservation has been as a supervisor on the West Otero Timpas Board.

Miller, longtime USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS)/Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) district conservationist (DC) in Rocky Ford, Colo., retired on April 1, after more than 34 years of federal service. He attributes his tenure in Rocky Fordto the constant challenge of melding the conservation ethic with the needs of production agriculture. “Every time a project or program would wind down, a new challenge came along for the field office to master,” notes Miller. “The goal was to always have the conservation work and programs benefit the producers in Crowley, Otero, and Pueblo counties.

Through the 1980s, Miller and the Rocky Ford field office conservation efforts focused on protecting the natural resources after the water sales. Up to that time, land that had the irrigation water sold off of it only had weeds growing. By working cooperatively, the West Otero, Timpas, East Otero, and Olney-Boone Conservation Districts (CD) influenced the water courts so that any future water sales included a mandatory revegetationclause.

Additionally, in the 1980s, Crowley County also passed a land use ordinance to control the plow out of native rangeland containing fragile soils. This was orchestrated by the conservation districts and Miller.

The 1990s saw many irrigation assistance programs to help irrigators in the Arkansas Valley. The Patterson Hollow Hydrologic Unit Project in Otero County was unique in the state. The intent of the project was to monitor the positive changes that could be made in traditional Arkansas Valley irrigation methods. With the help of Miller, the East Otero CD, West Otero CD, and CSU Extension were partners in this project. The East Otero and West Otero districts also sponsored two PL-566 watershed projects—Holbrook Lake and Highline Breaks. Monies from these two programs were used for improving irrigation systems. The field office and irrigators continued this trend through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), maximizing irrigation improvement application.

Page 2 of 2 - Miller notes that over the years, he has been fortunate to work with dedicated conservation district board members of the Olney-Boone, East Otero, and West Otero TimpasCDs. “I have also been fortunate to work with many dedicated SCSers/NRCSersand partners over the years,” says Miller. “I am most proud of the staff I have had in the field office since I began,” he adds. “Many went on to be district conservationists in other Colorado field offices. All—past and present—have been and are dedicated to serving the local producers.”